the mischievous little thing would betray me; I
fully apprehended that as soon as the man of the house arose, he would
come and make search in the barn. It now being entirely daylight, it was
too late to retreat from this shelter, even if I could have found another;
I, therefore, bedded myself down into the fodder as best I could, and
entered upon the annoyances of the day, with the frail hope to sustain my
mind.

It was Thursday morning; the clouds that had veiled the sky during the
latter part of the previous day and the previous night were gone. It was
not until about an hour after the sun rose that I heard any out-door
movements about the house. As soon as I heard those movements, I was
satisfied there was but one man about the house, and that he was preparing
to go some distance to work for the day. This was fortunate for me; the
busy movements about the yard, and especially the active preparations in
the house for breakfast, silenced my unwelcome little annoyer, the fice,
until after the man had gone, when he commenced afresh, and continued with
occasional intermissions through the day. He made regular sallies from the
house to the barn, and after smelling about, would fly back to the house,
barking furiously; thus he strove most skilfully throughout the entire day
to raise an alarm. There seemed to be no one about the house but one or
two small children and the mother, after the man was gone. About ten
o'clock my attention was gravely directed to another trial: how I could
pass the day without food. The reader will remember it is Thursday, and
the only regular meal I have taken since Sunday, was yesterday, in the
midst of great agitation, about four o'clock; that since that I have
performed my arduous night's travel. At one moment, I had nearly concluded
to go and present myself at the door, and ask the woman of the house to
have compassion and give me food; but then I feared the consequences might
be fatal, and I resolved to suffer the day out. The wind sprang up fresh
and cool; the barn being small and the crevices large, my wet clothes were
dried by it, and chilled me through and through.

I cannot now, with pen or tongue, give a correct idea of the feeling of
wretchedness I experienced; every nerve in my system quivered, so that not
a particle of my flesh was at rest. In this way I passed the day till
about the middle of the afternoon, when there seemed to be an unusual stir
about the public road, which pass